'Up and Away' debuts Nov. 9, exploring heroin epidemic

29 October 2018

EDITORS: Scroll to the bottom or click "Show All Attachments" to download high-resolution images of playwright Eric Simonson working with Carthage students in preparation for "Up and Away" (credit: Carthage College).

Performances are scheduled at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9-10 and Nov. 15-17, with a 3 p.m. showing Nov. 11. The theatre is located inside the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Natural and Social Sciences at the north end of the Carthage campus, 2001 Alford Park Drive.

“Up and Away,” directed by Herschel Kruger, is a drama set in rural Wisconsin. It tracks up-and-coming YouTube star Madison, whose attempt to rise out of poverty and isolation is threatened by drug addiction. Will she and her friends break free from their circumstances or tumble down like so many before them?

The play serves as a timely call-to-action about the rising heroin epidemic and the lives it impacts. Talk-back sessions featuring a variety of local health organizations will follow each performance.

Every year, Carthage commissions an acclaimed playwright to create an original script and work with students to stage it. For the 10th production in the New Play Initiative, the Theatre Department welcomed back Simonson, whose play “Honest” launched the project in 2009.

Simonson has been a writer and producer for Amazon original shows “The Man in the High Castle” and “Homecoming,” and he won an Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) in 2006. His Broadway credits include “Lombardi,” a hit play about the legendary Green Bay Packers coach; and “The Song of Jacob Zulu,” which was nominated for six Tony awards.

Tickets for “Up and Away” can be purchased online at www.carthage.edu/tickets or at the Fine Arts box office from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Ticket prices are $14 for adults, $10 for seniors (55 and older), and $8 for students with a valid ID.

For any questions, contact the Fine Arts Box Office at oee@carthage.edu or 262-551-6661.

About Carthage College – www.carthage.eduCarthage combines an environment of reflection and self-discovery with a culture of high expectation so our students uncover and ignite their true potential. A four-year, private liberal arts college with roots in the Lutheran tradition, Carthage has a prime location in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The campus, an 80-acre arboretum on the shore of Lake Michigan, is home to 150 scholars, 2,600 full-time students, and 400 part-time students.